This invention relates to small piece folders and more particularly comprises a machine capable of forming both French folds and cross folds in small articles.
At the present time there are a variety of machines available which are capable of automatically folding articles. These machines are quite large and expensive. The principal object of this invention is to provide a small piece folder which is relatively small in size as well as inexpensive, so that several such machines may be used in parallel at the output end of an ironer to increase the operator's capacity within a limited area and budget.
In the present invention pneumatic means are provided in the machine for folding the article. The margins of the article are literally blown over control blades which overlie the article, and the absence on the machine of mechanical devices for forming the folds enables the control blades to be easily adjusted so that the machine may accommodate articles of different sizes. Similarly, the cross fold formed on the machine is achieved by a pneumatic control which blows the article along the line to be folded between a pair of pinch rollers. This simple arrangement with very few mechanically moving parts provides trouble free operation. Furthermore, the folds are formed in the article as the article moves on continuously moving conveyors. The absence of stopping and starting of the principal conveyor belts in the machine reduces wear and increases the machine capacity. The machine also includes a stacker assembly that receives the fully folded articles and deposits them one at a time in a stack at the bottom of the machine frame from which point they may be conveyed for bundling and storing.
These and other objects and features of this invention will be better understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing: